When I glanced at the second quarter score of the Miami Dolphins vs. New Orleans Saints game this afternoon, I was shocked but convinced the Dolphins—with a 24-3 lead—were for real and had found a way to put the brakes on the NFL’s highest-scoring offense. I reasoned that the Saints were, perhaps, not the same explosive team outside the friendly confines of the New Orleans Superdome. Then I quickly gathered my senses, remembering how quarterback Drew Brees and company rallied for 17 points in the 4th quarter to beat the Buffalo Bills four weeks ago.
So why wouldn’t they do the …read more

Did you have Drew Brees on your fantasy team today? Good for you. Drew tied a New Orleans Saints record (as well as tying his personal best) with six touchdowns in a 45-27 thumping of the Detroit Lions. He also had 358 yards passing. Which means Drew is merely picking up where he left off last season—he threw for 5,069 yards (just 15 measley yards shy of Dan Marino’s record for a single season) and was the NFL’s 2008 Offensive Player-of-the-Year. Of course, before Saints fans start making their Super Bowl reservations, they need to remember they …read more

The city of New Orleans was awarded Super Bowl XLVII in 2013 today at the NFL Spring Meeting. This will be the fifth Super Bowl for New Orleans and the first since the devastation of Hurricane Katrina in 2005. The much-deserved economic impact for the city is estimated well over $300 million. New Orleans was selected after also receiving bids from South Florida and Phoenix.
New Orleans Saints owner Tom Benson was understandably thrilled:
“This is a great accomplishment for New Orleans, and the significance of bringing the Super Bowl to our city and region can’t be overstated. From every perspective, this …read more

National Football League Blogcast, NFL Blogcast
Yesterday, I wrote about the New Orleans Saints signing 12-year veteran safety Darren Sharper and revamping their defense. Today, much to my surprise, the team released one of their best defensive players — 10-year veteran cornerback Mike McKenzie. Mike played five seasons with the Saints after coming over from Green Bay in 2004. He started all but one of the 63 games he played in and had 225 tackles, 58 passes defensed, 12 interceptions and one forced fumble. He wasn’t the reason for the team’s less-than-stellar defensive efforts the past couple seasons. Saints Executive Vice …read more

National Football League Blogcast, NFL Blogcast
The New Orleans Saints signed former Minnesota Vikings safety Darren Sharper today. Terms of the deal weren’t known at the time of this post. At 33-years-old, Darren has no doubt seen his best years, but he will probably give the Saints some much needed leadership in their defensive secondary. After all, he’s been to four Pro Bowls and has 54 career interceptions, which is more than any other active player. He seemed pretty excited to be leaving Minnesota to play for new Saints defensive coordinator Gregg Williams:
“He’s excellent. I talked to guys around the league, …read more

National Football League Blogcast, NFL Blogcast
In what had to be one of this offseason’s most difficult decisions, the New Orleans Saints released beloved running back Deuce McAllister today. Deuce has had a magnificent career. Not only is he one of the best players to ever don a Saints uniform (he’s the team’s career rushing leader with 6,069 yards), he’s also one of the most revered athletes in his community. He spoke at length about the difficult decision:
“They say all good things must come to an end. As a player, this is a day that you dread happening. If you don’t …read more

National Football League Blogcast, NFL Blogcast
I first met linebacker Dan Morgan at the NFL Players Rookie Premiere back in 2001. He had just been drafted by the Carolina Panthers and was excited to start his NFL career. I’ve interviewed him several times since. He turned out to be one of my favorite players. I love the way he plays the game. But seven seasons, five concussions and a torn right Achilles’ tendon later, he was forced into an early retirement. After a year off, Dan announced his “unretirement” today and plans to return to the league with the New Orleans …read more

National Football League Blogcast, NFL Blogcast
New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees was named the NFL’s Offensive Player of the Year today. Drew was a great choice. All he did was re-write the Saints’ record books this season. He became just the second player in NFL history to throw for 5,000 yards in a single season and he had a team-record and league-leading 34 touchdown passes. Naturally, he spoke of team first:
“I don’t come out from week to week and say I have to throw for 300 (yards). I don’t think about that. It’s really about what I can do to …read more

National Football League Blogcast, NFL Blogcast
The five players who were busted for using StarCaps no longer have to keep wondering if they will be suspended. At least not for the next couple weeks and probably longer. U.S. District Court Judge Paul Magnuson extended his preliminary injunction against the NFL’s suspension of Kevin Williams (Vikings), Pat Williams (Vikings), Deuce McAllister (Saints), Will Smith (Saints) and Charles Grant (Saints) for violating the league’s anti-doping policy today. Judge Magnuson asked both sides to propose a schedule by December 22 to file pleadings in the case. That means the players are cleared to play …read more

National Football League Blogcast, NFL Blogcast
Fans of the National Football League across the pond are disappointed tonight. New Orleans Saints running back and kick returner Reggie Bush will not travel with the Saints to London to play against the San Diego Chargers in next weekend’s NFL International Series game. Reggie injured the meniscus in his left knee and will require surgery. The estimated recovery time is 3-4 weeks but the exact range will not be known until doctors perform the operation tomorrow. Quarterback Drew Brees was understandably upset:
“Of course it’s tough. He’s a big-time playmaker. We’re going to miss him, …read more